Toothpaste Container Having Multiple Outlets And Air Vents

ABSTRACT

A toothpaste container having multiple outlets is provided. The toothpaste container includes a toothpaste tube, at least two heads distributed on the toothpaste tube, and at least two caps correspondingly provided to the heads. Each head has an outlet allowing the toothpaste contained in the toothpaste tube to be extruded therefrom. At least one air vent is configured at the toothpaste tube near the head. The caps are assigned with different colors or symbols, so that they can be conveniently identified by their hosts. As such, each family member has his own outlet, from which the toothpaste can be extruded. Therefore, cross infection of oral disease among family members can be avoided. Further, the present invention allows a plurality of persons to in common use one toothpaste tube while remaining individuals being well protected. Moreover, the present invention also saves the space in toilet which would have been often occupied by many toothpaste tubes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a toothpaste container, and more particularly, to a toothpaste tube having a plurality of outlets and air vents.

2. The Prior Arts

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional toothpaste container. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional toothpaste container includes a toothpaste tube 13, a head 12 configured at an end of the toothpaste tube 13, and a cap 11 provided for matching the head 12. The toothpaste tube 13 is made of flexible material so that the toothpaste tube 13 is flexible and adapted for containing desired content, e.g., toothpaste therein. When the toothpaste tube 13 is squeezed by a user, the inside volume of the tube is correspondingly changed, and the toothpaste contained in the toothpaste tube 13 is extruded out from an outlet configured at the head 12.

Typically, one person is suggested to brush his teeth for two or more times every day. However, when extruding the toothpaste to the toothbrush, the toothbrush often unintentionally touches the outlet of the head 12. This increases the risk of bacteria breeding at the outlet of the head 12, or even may cause a cross infection of oral disease among people who use the toothpaste container in common.

As a solution, people may select to prepare a particular toothpaste tube for his own use only. However, even though toothpaste is not expansive, when every member of a family has his own toothpaste tube in the toilet, the total toothpastes may occupy much space. Further, when considering environment protection issues, everyone having his own toothpaste generates more rubbish. Furthermore, many discarded toothpastes are not completely used up, and they often become breeding places of bacteria and thus broadcasting communicable disease.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a solution for the problem of bacteria breeding and cross infection of oral disease caused by more than one person sharing a toothpaste tube. In addition, when each family member has his own toothpaste, the toothpastes occupy too much space in the toilet, and when they are discarded, they further cause environmental problems. As such, the present invention is also directed to provide a solution addressing to both of the hygiene and environmental issues.

The present invention provides a toothpaste tube configured with two or more heads, each of the heads having an outlet. Each of the heads is provided with a cap for matching therewith. Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the cap is configured with a top opening, and includes a top lid adapted for sealing the top opening. The top lid includes a fixed end fixed to the cap and a free end. Preferably, each of the caps is specifically designed to be distinguishable from others. For example, the caps are assigned with different colors or numbers, so as to allow family members to conveniently identify their own caps. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the multiple heads and the corresponding caps are configured at one end of the toothpaste tube. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the multiple heads and corresponding caps can also be allocated at two ends of the toothpaste tube. In other words, each of the two ends of the toothpaste tube is allocated with at least one head, and then the heads are provided with caps of different colors or numbers.

Furthermore, the toothpaste tube of the present invention is configured with at least one air vent near the head for preventing the backflow of the toothpaste. Generally, when the toothpaste tube is squeezed by the user, the pressure inside the toothpaste tube is greater than the outside air pressure, and therefore the outside air is prevented from entering the toothpaste tube from the air vent, i.e., the air vent is locked. When the user stops squeezing the toothpaste tube, the toothpaste tube intends to recover its previous form, thus causing a negative pressure inside the toothpaste tube. In this case, outside air can be inhaled from the air vent, so as to prevent the backflow of the toothpaste from the outlet.

Comparing with the conventional arts, the toothpaste tube of the present invention allows different members to extrude the toothpaste from their own outlets. Since every member has his own outlet for extruding the toothpaste, cross infection of oral disease caused by sharing one toothpaste tube can be avoided. Further, the present invention advantageously avoids the waste of toothpaste caused by everyone having one toothpaste tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional toothpaste container;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a toothpaste tube having two heads according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2A-2A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a toothpaste tube having three heads according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a cap provided with a top lid according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the caps are assigned with different colors or numbers, so as to allow family members to conveniently identify their own caps; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a toothpaste tube having heads distributed at different ends of the tube according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a toothpaste tube having two heads according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2A-2A of FIG. 2. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 2A, there is shown the first embodiment of the present invention, in which a toothpaste container is provided. The toothpaste container includes a toothpaste tube 23, at least two heads 22, and at least two caps 21 corresponding to the heads 22. The at least two heads 22 are configured at one end of the toothpaste tube 23. Each of the heads 22 is configured with an outlet 220 communicating to the inside of the toothpaste tube 23. Each of the heads 22 correspondingly matches with one of the caps 21. Preferably, the head 22 is configured in form of a hollow column having one end closed, and the head 22 is further configured with an internal threading for matching with an external threading configured at the corresponding head 22. At least one air vent 231 is configured at the toothpaste tube 23 near the head 22. As shown in FIG. 3, there is further provided an embodiment illustrating a toothpaste tube having three heads.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a cap provided with a top lid according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a variation of the cap 21, i.e., 21A hereby. As shown in FIG. 4, the cap 21A is configured with a top opening 21A1 at the position corresponding to the closed end of the cap 21. The cap 21A further includes a top lid 21A2 adapted for sealing the top opening 21A1. The top lid 21A2 includes a fixed end fixed to the cap 21A and a free end.

Preferably, each of the caps 21 or 21A is specifically designed to be distinguishable from others. For example, the caps are assigned with different colors or numbers, so as to allow family members to conveniently identify their own caps 21 or 21A and the corresponding outlets 220.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a toothpaste tube having heads distributed at different ends of the tube according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a further embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the toothpaste container includes a toothpaste tube 23, at least two heads 22, and at least two caps 21 corresponding to the heads 22. The at least two heads 22 are configured at different ends of the toothpaste tube 23. Each of the heads 22 is configured with an outlet 220 communicating to the inside of the toothpaste tube 23. Each of the heads 22 correspondingly matches with one of the caps 21. The structures of the toothpaste tube 23 and the caps 21 are similar to the foregoing-illustrated embodiments, and can be learnt by referring to the above discussion, and are not to be iterated hereby. In such a way, different users can use different heads distributed at different ends of the toothpaste tube to extrude the toothpaste from different outlets, so as to avoid his toothbrush from getting in contact with outlets used by others.

In accordance with the structures illustrated by FIGS. 2 to 5, when the toothpaste tube is squeezed by the user, the pressure inside the toothpaste tube is greater than the outside air pressure, and therefore the outside air is prevented from entering the toothpaste tube from the air vent, i.e., the air vent 231 is locked. When the user stops squeezing the toothpaste tube, the toothpaste tube intends to recover its previous form, thus causing a negative pressure inside the toothpaste tube. In this case, outside air can be inhaled from the air vent 231, so as to prevent the backflow of the toothpaste from the outlet.

Recently, environment protection has been now much more concerned about. Generally, people usually incline to use degradable material in production, and put more effort on reducing the quantity of garbage. Accordingly, the present invention allows a plurality of persons to in common use one toothpaste tube while remaining individuals being well protected. By the way, the present invention also saves the space in toilet which would have been often occupied by many toothpaste tubes.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims. 

1. A toothpaste container having multiple outlets, comprising: a toothpaste tube, adapted for containing toothpaste therein; at least two heads, each head having an outlet and communicating to the inside of the toothpaste tube, wherein the toothpaste is allowed to be extruded out from each head; at least two caps, correspondingly provided to the at least two heads, wherein each cap is adapted for locking a head for sealing the outlet of the head.
 2. The toothpaste container according to claim 1, wherein the heads are distributed at one end of the toothpaste tube.
 3. The toothpaste container according to claim 1, wherein the heads are distributed at two ends of the toothpaste tube.
 4. The toothpaste container according to claim 1, wherein the toothpaste tube is configured with at least one air vent. 